Translator: Cinder Translations
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Holding the jade bottle, Song Wen sensed the pure and flawless essence blood within.
Song Wen was very satisfied.
This was currently the only method he could think of to quickly earn spiritual stones.
Yesterday, at the market, Song Wen noticed the high price of refined essence blood.
The essence blood he forced out was pure, singular, without any impurities or blemishes. Anyone who inspected it would think it had been completely refined from the blood essence of a late-stage Qi Refinement righteous cultivator.
Song Wen estimated that if he set up a stall at the market, this half-bottle of essence blood could fetch at least 80 to 100 spiritual stones.
After storing away the jade bottle, Song Wen took out the Corpse Qi obtained yesterday and concurrently consumed a Corpse Blood Pill, beginning to cultivate the "Corpse King's Blood Refining Technique."
As for the "Forbidden Divine Art," he planned to wait until the soul fragments in his sea of consciousness approached saturation before cultivating it again.
In the blink of an eye, over ten days passed. With abundant qi and blood, Corpse Qi, and the assistance of Corpse Blood Pills, Song Wen's cultivation progressed extremely rapidly. His current cultivation had already stepped into the mid-stage of the second layer of Qi Refinement.
Such cultivation speed would be considered remarkable even in the fast-progressing demonic path.
During these ten-plus days, Song Wen had been continuously stealing essence blood from the Corpse Dissecting Cave. However, unlike the first day, he dared not devour blood as recklessly. He daily controlled his qi and blood within a range he could freely manipulate.
Even so, he had already condensed three full bottles of essence blood.
After finishing dissecting corpses for the day, Song Wen planned to go to the market and discreetly dispose of these three bottles of essence blood.
At the hour of the third watch, Song Wen completed his daily corpse dissecting and took the resolved essence to Yuan Cheng's cave.
After handing over the storage bags, he was about to leave but was stopped by Yuan Cheng.
"Ji Yin, please wait a moment."
"Brother Yuan, what instructions do you have?"
Song Wen had to stop his steps, put on a respectful smile, and said.
"I have a corpse here that needs to be processed quickly. Ji Yin, please first resolve this corpse."
As he spoke, Yuan Cheng handed over a storage bag.
Although reluctant in his heart, Song Wen dared not show it.
When under someone else's roof, one has to lower one's head!
He nodded and said with a smile, "No problem, Brother Yuan."
Song Wen took the storage bag and headed towards the corpse dissecting platform.
"Ji Yin, please be careful when dissecting this corpse."
Yuan Cheng's voice sounded behind Song Wen. Suddenly, Song Wen felt he had agreed too quickly just now, as if he had overlooked something important.
For an ordinary corpse, Yuan Cheng wouldn't hurry someone to resolve it on the same day; they could easily wait until the next day.
The fact that it had to be resolved today meant that if this corpse were left until tomorrow, something unexpected might happen.
But what unexpected event could happen with just one corpse?
Could it be a false corpse?
Even if it were a false corpse, within the Necromancer Sect, a newly transformed corpse wouldn't cause much trouble.
Song Wen couldn't figure out the reason behind this and could only turn around, looking at Yuan Cheng in confusion.
However, Yuan Cheng said nothing more, already closing his eyes and meditating in his own cave, as if the warning he had just given was not from him, completely ignoring Song Wen's movements.
Seeing that he didn't want to speak further, Song Wen could only continue with trepidation towards the corpse dissecting platform. However, in his heart, he became wary of this particular corpse.
At this thought, he felt somewhat annoyed. If he hadn't been the last one to finish dissecting corpses, Yuan Cheng wouldn't have singled him out to dissect this corpse.
Song Wen didn't immediately open the storage bag but instead took out a pair of leather gloves and a leather apron from his own storage bag.
This was an experience he had observed during nearly two months of working in the Corpse Dissecting Cave.
Some other experienced corpse dissectors would wear gloves and aprons for protection when dissecting certain specific corpses. Some even wore gloves and protective gear of the Fa Yan level.
TL Note: "Fa" (法) often refers to law, principles, or dharma in Chinese, while "Yan" (衍) means development, evolution, or extension.
The Fa Yan level gloves and protective gear were not affordable for Song Wen, so he could only use leather substitutes.
Even if Song Wen sold those three bottles of essence blood now, he wouldn't dare to buy even the lowest-grade Fa Yan gloves and gear. Otherwise, it would definitely attract attention from others.
As a lone newcomer who had barely been in the sect for less than three months, where would he get the spiritual stones to purchase Fa Yan equipment?
Keep wealth concealed, words unspoken!
This was the first rule Song Wen had set for himself in this dangerous world.
Seeing the corpse appearing on the corpse dissecting platform, Song Wen didn't immediately start dissecting it but carefully observed it.
The owner of this corpse seemed to be an old woman, appearing very aged with a somewhat hunched figure. The wrinkles on her skin were very pronounced, resembling the body of an ordinary elderly person who had died of natural causes.
There were many water stains on the corpse, melted from ice crystals. Additionally, there were sporadic unmelted ice crystals on the body.
The fatal injury to the corpse was at the back of the head, where there was a bowl-sized hole, as if someone had smashed her skull with a claw.
Inside the hole at the back of the head, there were still many ice crystals that had not completely melted.
It was apparent that she had been killed and then frozen using ice-based techniques.
Since she had already been killed, why would someone waste energy freezing her like this?
This doubt surfaced in Song Wen's mind.
If the old woman had been frozen with ice spells before she died, the ice crystals would only appear on the surface of her body, not in the hole at the back of her head.
Song Wen took out a bone-picking knife and began carefully cutting open the old woman's clothes.
The thin layer of ice crystals on the corpse was unexpectedly tough, posing a significant challenge for Song Wen.
Following the frozen areas, Song Wen struggled to cut through the clothing and then peeled it off.
"I wonder if these ice crystals were left by a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator?" Song Wen thought, shocked.
A skeletal, bloodless, emaciated corpse appeared before his eyes, resembling the body of someone who had suffered from long-term malnutrition and starvation.
Of course, Song Wen did not believe that someone killed by a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator would suffer from malnutrition.
The old woman's body seemed more like it had been depleted of qi and blood due to something continuously sucking away its vitality.
There weren't many ice crystals on the corpse, and they weren't connected in a continuous layer. Song Wen could still find gaps between the ice crystals to dissect the body.
However, due to the low temperature affecting the corpse and the high cultivation level of the old woman, estimated to be a Foundation Establishment stage powerhouse, the body's natural strength was extremely high, making the dissection very difficult.
In theory, this corpse should have been an excellent material for refining corpse puppets. However, for some reason, it had been sent to the Corpse Dissecting Cave to be dissected for obtaining essence blood.
This puzzled Song Wen greatly.
"If only I could refine this corpse into a corpse puppet."
Since obtaining the "Ghost Corpse Technique," he hadn't found a suitable body to refine into a corpse puppet. Now, he had to dissect such an exceptional corpse. He couldn't help but feel a bit regretful.
However, with only a cultivation level of the second layer of Qi Refinement, Song Wen was very clear that he couldn't guess the decisions of the higher-ups in the Corpse Demon Sect. He only needed to follow orders and dissect the corpse.
Due to the various abnormalities on the corpse, Song Wen didn't dare to devour its essence blood. He began the dissection cautiously, hoping nothing unexpected would occur.
(End of the Chapter)